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Most conversations about problems follow a predictable script. Something is wrong. We talk about what is wrong. We ask why it is wrong. We explore how long it has been wrong. We investigate who or what caused it to be wrong. We analyze the wrongness from every angle, hoping that understanding the problem will somehow lead to its resolution.
**Author:** Fredrike P. Bannink
**Estimated Reading Time:** 45 minutes
**What You'll Learn:** How to transform conversations from problem analysis to solution building. You will learn the fundamental paradigm shift that defines solution-focused interviewing, master the core questioning techniques that help people discover their own answers, and understand how to apply these methods across therapy, coaching, management, and everyday relationships. You will learn why asking about exceptions, miracles, and scales produces more change than asking about causes, and how to tailor your approach based on where someone actually stands in relation to change.
**Who This Book Is For:** Therapists, coaches, counselors, and managers who want to move beyond problem-focused conversations. Anyone who works with people facing challenges and wants a practical, respectful, and effective way to help them move forward. Also for individuals who want to apply solution-focused thinking to their own lives.
Most conversations about problems follow a predictable script. Something is wrong. We talk about what is wrong. We ask why it is wrong. We explore how long it has been wrong. We investigate who or what caused it to be wrong. We analyze the wrongness from every angle, hoping that understanding the problem will somehow lead to its resolution. This approach feels natural. It feels thorough. It feels like what serious people do when they confront serious difficulties. But there is a quiet assumption buried inside this script: that understanding a problem is the same as solving it. That if we dig deep enough into the roots of what went wrong, we will naturally discover what to do differently. This assumption is not always true. Sometimes it is actively harmful. Consider what happens when two people in a troubled relationship spend an hour discussing everything that is wrong between them. They leave the conversation with an encyclopedic knowledge of their problems and absolutely no clarity about what to do next. They feel worse. They feel more stuck. The problem has been thoroughly explored and nothing has changed. Fredrike Bannink's work emerges from a radical observation: solutions involve doing something different from what did not work before. This sounds obvious, almost tautological. Yet its implications are profound. If solutions require doing something different, then the most useful conversation is not about what went wrong but about what could go right. The most useful question is not "Why is this happening?" but "What do you want instead, and what small signs would tell you that things are moving in that direction?" This book offers a complete toolkit for having those conversations. It is not a theoretical treatise. It is a practical manual containing hundreds of specific questions organized by situation, purpose, and technique. But beneath the questions lies a coherent…
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Get the complete summary in the appAsk about solutions, not problems. What you pay attention to grows.
The client is the expert. Your job is to ask questions, not give answers.
Find exceptions. Every problem fluctuates. The moments when it is absent contain the seeds of solutions.
Use the miracle question to help people articulate what they want when they cannot describe it directly.
Use scaling questions to make progress visible and to break large goals into small steps.
Diagnose the relationship type before you intervene. Visitors, complainants, and customers need different approaches.
"1001 Solution-Focused Questions" is a strong fit if you want practical ideas around psychology, counselling, social work—especially themes like ask about solutions, not problems. what you pay attention to grows; the client is the expert. your job is to ask questions, not give answers. The MinuteRead summary distills these concepts into a focused read, whether you're deciding whether to buy the book or applying its lessons at work.
Fredrike Bannink is a renowned psychologist, therapist, and author specializing in solution-focused approaches. Fredrike Bannink has extensive experience in clinical practice and training, focusing on positive psychology and solution-focused brief therapy. She has written numerous books and articles on these topics, translated into several languages. Bannink is known for her practical, accessible approach to therapy and her ability to distill complex concepts into usable techniques. She frequent…
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